Dragons Soaring Through the Willows: Nodoka Kumori VS Yashin Shiyōnin
Dragons Soaring Through the Willows! Act I Unintended Meeting, The Hidden Menace Revealed! It was cold. The cool, crisp feeling of winter bit on the skin of a pale complexioned man as he walked towards a lone grave. His breath exhaled thin clouds of vapor in front of him, confirming the freezing temperatures, but withdrew the breaths evenly. This man knew cold as well as hot, for the weather did not make him falter nor did it sway his desire of being where he was. Kneeling down, the man took off his fedora black hat, revealing a long blue ponytail with slight spiky protrusions around his crown, as the angular and strong features of the grave's visitor showed a slight cheer in his features. Whether it was a sincere one or masked one mattered not, as he reached out to brush off the snow that had fallen on the text of the gravestone and reading off its name. "Rest in peace. To the soul who knew no passage could be barred from his Will. The only thing he wished more was to know his true name and his true purpose in this life and his next one. Mathias Walker," the visitor spoke in a soothing reverence, bringing a slight frown as he read the name blinking a few times, "someday I'll understand your desires, young soul, and fulfill that wish as your essence is a part of me. I am sorry I have nothing to offer but this promise and my condolences you weren't able to be by my side to witness it." Rising up, the visitor prepared to leave, as his long trenchcoat defined form touched the snow and covered the black suit jacket and tie underneath it, matching the black gloves that held his fedora momentarily before putting it back onto his head...just as he felt a presence sift in his direction... "Hmmm?" The young man looked towards the direction he could accurately feel the entity's location, speaking aloud, "who's there? I'd rather not play hide & seek today, for I'm not in the right mood for it." Nodoka walked out with a bouquet. "Just visiting a fallen comrade." He walked over to a grave some rows back, laid the bouquet there, and put his hands together to pray. Afterwards, he approached the grave where the visitor stood, and prayed for the fallen soul resting there. Aside from his communication in thought, Nodoka was completely silent. "Then it is a small world," the mutual visitor spoke with a smile and a gentle tone, "he was once a good friend of mine as well. In fact, I was there with him during his last moments. Its such a shame he couldn't be here, with the two of us meeting and him introducing us to each other. Tragic..." "I didn't know him," said Nodoka. "My boss tells me to go to this graveyard every day after a delivery of alcohol. He says that I should lay flowers on the first grave I see that has someone there. I don't get the point of it, but I guess it's good to know someone cares." He finished his prayer and stood. "I mean no disrespect. It's just that my boss does weird things for my and John's training. Ever since John lost to that Yonkō hunter, Hikaru has stepped up our regimen." Nodoka looked to the man next to him. The stranger at the grave stood almost a foot taller than him. "Pardon me, but would you mind having a battle?" "I'm not in the mood for a-" the visitor spoke fluidly before he heard the phrase, Yonkō-Hunter, being mentioned in front of him. He could barely contain his humor at the irony of their unintended meeting, and the hilarity of the revelation he would reveal to the entity who spoke strangely enough through telepathy rather than voice. He turned with a dark smile, showing his strange red eye being different from his left, as its pupil had a kanji symbol at its center instead of a pupil, "Yonkō Hunter? Can you give me a description of this character, cause I believe I know whom you're speaking of..." "I believe John said something along the lines of 'His Bankai made him look like a menacing Level 3 Akuma'." Nodoka paused. "His words, not mine." "Ah, so that's who he fought," the visitor spoke with a enlightened tone, fist palming his left gloved hand with the other one, "I believe he didn't want to name him considering how pathetic of a Reaper he turned out to be. It was a shame he had to waste his effort in killing the stubborn fool..." "John still lives," answered Nodoka. "Much to Mizu's chagrin." He straightened himself, never facing the visitor. "I agree with you; John is a pathetic Soul Reaper who simply got lucky in that last fight. Honestly, John's power is like a rough jewel. He has immense potential, but the strain of handling 4 Zanpakutō became too much for him. I don't blame him. Even the Yonkō would never do something that brash." Nodoka rubbed his back, and continued, "Now, John is losing contact with Akireiki. John of all people wouldn't say a thing, but I brought it to Hikaru." He stared directly into the stranger's eyes, revealing an unyielding resolve. "And he said that John's power is evolving." "Thank you sharing that with me, Nodoka," the visitor spoke in a ominously knowing tone, without even having to ask for the man's name as he smiled devilishly as he moved to walk away, waving back nonchalantly to the entity, "you've been a great help...in giving me a clue in how to kill that boy...ta-ta!" A large scythe blade stopped the visitor in his path. "Why fight a whipped dog when you have a feral wolf to deal with?" asked Nodoka. "If you defeat me, I will let you go to John. If I win, you and Level 3 wait until John's training is complete to fight him." Nodoka's eyes narrowed. "And the next time he fights Ryūketsu Ōtamu," Nodoka opened his mouth to speak, "He will win." "I don't think you understand the gap between our powers, Nodoka," Yashin turned his gaze so his red eye side-glanced him with a menacing intent, "I could kill your precious brat anytime I want to. Its only on a whim that I spare him, as his opponent spared him. Fighting you would only agitate me...and I so loathe agitation..." "That's a pretty poor excuse," answered Nodoka. He felt no fear whatsoever from the figure in front of him. The fears he experienced in his life far surpassed that which this person could exude. "If you could kill him at any time, why do I spend my afternoons kicking the crap out of my comrade? He certainly seems alive to me, as much as it pains me." "I have far better things to do than argue the importance between mundane things as barbaric fights, then my plans for the universe," the visitor spoke, before grasping the flat end of the scythe behind him and forcefully lifting it over his head, overpowering the man's grip as he turned around to stare at him evenly with a unimpressed stare, "either go run to whatever hole you crawled of, man without words, or I will make you regret it. Understand?" Nodoka regained balance in wielding his scythe. "I don't even want to attempt cracking wise like my master or his brother because smiling hurts my face. Moreover, I hate being polite. Just tell me your name so I can attack knowing that my prey has a semblance of humanity." He readied a battle stance. "Former 5th Seat of the 7th Division, Nodoka Kumori. Now tell me your name, or I will just attack you." The Calm Shadow, Two Mysteries Clash! "My my, you poor soul. I'll tell you this much," the entity, Yashin, finally placed a hand over his face, dragging it down to show his bright, shining red eye shift Kanji shape, "I'm not human!" WHOOSH-SNATCH! With unparalleled speed that even Captains themselves could give pause to, Yashin moved within the span of a blink of an eye to crouch next to Nodoka's left side. With his hand already grasping for Nodoka's face, he intended to send him flying through the large tree behind the gravestone, if not continue to be flailed through the forestland by a projection of immense strength. Nodoka crashed through the thick foliage, braking using his scythe. Black blood covered his left eye. "What a coincidence." Nodoka flash-stepped to appear in front of Yashin. The wounds Nodoka glowed with a peculiar green light. He stood at the ready, preparing to behead Yashin. "I'm not exactly a normal Shinigami." "I wouldn't bother with you if you weren't," Yashin smiled, as he raised his black hand out in emphasis, surging a form of Dark Spiritual Energy that collected in a thick, ghastly smoke that went in two directions parallel to each other... SSSSSSSHINK! ...before summoning what looked like a black handled, sleek trident that bore some red kanji lettering along the handle itself. He backed his foot into a fighting stance before grasping his trident appropriately as he narrowed his eyes at him, "ladies first." Nodoka blankly stared at Yashin. "I think that you need to get that eye checked. If you think I look like a 12 year old androgynous girl, then you may need to get contacts. Also, do I see signs of pink-eye? I think I do. Great, now I'll catch 'KanjEye' just like you." SSSSHFT-SSSHINK! Nodoka, by keeping his gaze fixated on Yashin's eye had caught himself in a passive, temporary hypnotic paralysis. Yashin made it appear he kept the same stance as well as caught in what appeared in a loop the state of his mind appeared to be in. That is...until a searing pain slashed his back with incredible force, as Yashin's body had already moved behind him and aimed to incapacitate him with the severity of the injury. "You should watch your manners when staring at people too intensely," Yashin chuckled, narrowing his eyes as he smiled darkly, backpedaling away from his opponent once more, "it tends to get you into trouble..." Nodoka inspected part of his back and winced, "Ow. That really hurt a lot. I can't remember the last time someone got a good cut on me." The slash across Nodoka's back started at his right shoulder blade and ran down to his lower back. However, he had experienced far worse things during his time as an assassin. He turned to face Yashin. "I'm not going to have to worry about some kind of reishi corruption toxin like my former Vice-Captain has. That trident is certainly a unique weapon, but you use it for other techniques in addition for general attack." Nodoka held himself at the ready. "As long as there's no poison, slashes don't bother me as much as they do John. He's terrified of getting cut." Nodoka raised his scythe above his head. "One more thing, my Zanpakutō can go between it's claymore and scythe forms when I choose it too. This way, I can use either weapon without having to power up to Shikai." He glared at Yashin, but he made sure to look at him generally, and not in the eyes. "In this case, however, I think taking all of your power is a more efficient plan." He slammed the scythe into the ground. "Show Your Sorrow, Itoyanagi." Green cracks originating from Nodoka's blade spread out as far as the eye could see. "Datsuryoku." Immediately, the sky turned black, and an eclipsed sun appeared in the sky. All around, everything appeared either ashen or green. Nodoka's hair and clothing turned a navy blue color, so the reflection made the colors strangely distorted. "Welcome to Za Mokumoku." Two huge four-story trees burst out of the ground behind Nodoka. "Now die." "Velum Inferiorem Tractus!" Yashin spoke out with a succinct tongue and tone that sounded alien to the Soul Reaper, his body suddenly inflaming with a distortive green aura before dissipating before Nodoka's eyes. Yashin smiled as his single red eye shined through the darkness, tapping his scythe on the ground before an ominous red sun erected over what could be described as the sky, "ahhhhh, much better. I just had to adjust myself and the scenery to make it more comfortable. You don't mind do you? After all...we're going to spend the next foreseeable future getting to know each other through this eternal battle we're about to wage! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" A red sun? And Latin? Nodoka thought to himself. "Actually I do mind. Za Mokumoku is my zone. I don't particularly care for people bringing their own solar energy in and taking over the place." A third tree sprouted from the ground. "And eternity should either be spent in happiness or torment." He disappeared, and reappeared behind Yashin. "Hell is here." He swung down his scythe aiming to return the favor on Yashin's back. Yashin smiled as the blade cut into him. Or rather...through him! The scythe seemed to seem to carve around a spacial fabric before passing right through Yashin's form and cutting a deep gash into the earth under his feet. Yashin turned around and slammed a roundhouse kick on Nodoka's face, intending on sending him hurtling across the treeline once more, but in the bathing rays of the unusual red light. "I may be in your world, Nodoka, but my physical form is in another plane altogether," Yashin explained, twirling his trident around in a whirlwind manner as he walked casually towards where he struck his opponent, "your Shikai may have a unparalleled reach and absorbing power, but if there is no Spiritual Energy of a natural sort you can draw upon that technique is merely punishing yourself. Swallow dust instead of water, and you'll eventually die. Its as simple that..." "Then how can I block your attacks?" Nodoka had defended himself with his claymore. He transformed his blade at the last minute, letting his Zanpakutō take the brunt of the assault. "You would have to make yourself tangible in order to hit me." Nodoka stood and began to speak, "Denka." The two four-story trees glowed green, dissipated, then flowed into Nodoka himself. The boy now had a thin green aura surrounding him. "I suppose I'll just have to keep finding a weak point." "You won't be allowed such a pleasure," Yashin spoke with a smile, scraping his trident along the ground in a grating, painful sound, "I have an endless amount of tactics at my disposal. I've lived far longer than any entity can imagine, and I've lived again and again in ways you can't fathom. This time around, I'm something more akin to a god ''than a ''mortal," narrowing his eyes, he raised his weapon into the air, pointing at the Red Sun above him, "and gods ''taunt ''mortals ''like you!" The red sun suddenly shifted, as well as all the air space around them, distorting and changing the environment altogether. With Yashin left standing in the exact place he stood and weapon raised, instead of a densely packed forest with a frigid, cold temperature, they were now standing in the midst of a ashen wasteland.... SSSSSSSSS-BOOM! ...with deadly geysers of scalding steam erupting around them, as well as a lake of volcanoe down their left and right, as they are standing atop a cliffside. Somehow, someway...Yashin had changed the location of their battlefield altogether, or molded it into something else. Either way, Yashin looked unphased by Nodoka's glowing avarice or the steely gaze he gave back at him. He looked almost...elated... Despair! Nodoka on the Defensive! For the first time in his life, Nodoka was truly surprised. More surprised than when Hikaru saved. More surprised than when Sayuri and John accepted him as their friend. More surprised than when he achieved Bankai. And something else Nodoka had never felt since he obtained his Shinigami powers with Itoyanagi. ''No, I cannot let it happen again! Nodoka screamed inwardly. I can't be that weak again! His hands trembled. No one except Hikaru has been able to destroy my trees like that! There has to be a trick. THERE HAS TO BE! Calm down, Nodoka. Nodoka's eyes widened. Hikaru? No, it's Itoyanagi. Nodoka blinked, not giving anything away that he already had not shown. Is this a new trend? Conversations with our Zanpakutō? Don't be a smart-ass. It doesn't suit you. Right, what do you want? My world was experiencing an earthquake, and the trees and I don't like earthquakes. Let's move on the the point. Search for your trees. What? SEARCH for your trees. Nodoka did as Itoyanagi said. He found out that they still lived. How? This guy can create illusions that equate Sōsuke Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu. Inwardly, Nodoka's shoulders slumped. So we're royally screwed, right? Not necessarily, responded Itoyanagi. Unlike Kyoka Suigetsu, it's not perfect hypnosis, but it's still powerful enough to cause trouble. So how do we break it? I don't know... Nodoka gave his scythe a blank stare. So we wing it? Yep. Nodoka sighed. What do I have to lose? He charged at what he thought was Yashin. "That's it," Yashin spoke in a beckoning tone, crouching down into a elevated stance for his weapon, with the pommel facing up past his upper back while the triple-prong blades pointed down towards the ashen earth, "come and face me. That's all you Soul Reapers know best, isn't it? Charging at whatever is in your way and crushing it utterly. Well unforunately for you..." SHFT! "...I've seen that strategy one too many times," Yashin spoke as his eye changed shapes, too fast to be visibly discerned, causing his body to move a blurring pace in comparison to most skilled warriors. Its pure essence of speed rivaled any fast-movement technique, allowing Yashin to move uninhibited right past Nodoka. In that simple burst of speed, Yashin vaulted over his opponent, slashing his trident in an effective arc with enough potent cutting power to slice open Nodoka's left shoulder. The slash connected with Nodoka, and his scythe. Feeling the attack as it hit, he defended himself from damage that would have caused greater pain than he was willing to feel at this point. He could still feel the motions in his left arm slow down due to some muscles being hit. He readied himself to take on another attack. "You dodged that well," Yashin spoke with a hint of admiration in his opponent's skills, but was quickly overlayed with a taunting glint in his eyes as he turned towards his direction, "however, you really should keep moving...it'd be very unhealthy for you to stand in one place for too long." And he was right. After all the ashen valley was filled with constantly erupting geysers of searing water, with enough potency to rip the flesh off the bone if not too careful. Such as the ground cracking underneath Nodoka... PSSSH-SHEEEOW!!! ...erupting nearly point blank underneath him, making it the epicenter of another gout of painful, potent pressurized searing water, as it intended on scalding his body into a incapacitated state if not a post mordem one. I'll be the first to admit that was scary, Nodoka had just dodged the geyser by jumping back. His clothing, however, stayed the same. So he can't destroy clothing. Well, it would be annoying if he could destroy Zanpakutō, said Itoyanagi. Considering part of your clothing is part of your release, I suppose he'd have to do more than make illusions to harm me. Still doesn't change the fact that my legs hurt, responded Nodoka. Seems like his illusions can still go through clothing. He began to run, hoping that he could avoid more geysers. "What's wrong?" Yashin asked, seeming to almost know the questions running through Nodoka's mind, more undoubtedly due to the latter man's telepathy not being turned "off" as it were, "you actually think these are mere illusions? Do you truly understand what's transpiring around you? Or are you guessing and gauging your situation still?" Something that Nodoka had failed to comprehend, however, was the fact his spiritronic fabric suddenly hissed and blasted away from the earlier eruption, showing that the damage appeared very real and appropiately, potentially lethal to him. Something was very wrong from this supposed world concocted by "illusion"-based powers. Nodoka, I detect some of my power has been disrupted with, said Itoyanagi. I know, responded Nodoka. What Yashin sees is different than what we see. You mean like Jasdevi's powers in D.Gray-man? asked Itoyanagi. Except a lot more annoying since he doesn't need someone else to conjure the attack. Nodoka winced from running. His legs began to hurt badly from the geyser's heat. This is really going to be bad if I don't go full power. He then realized what Itoyanagi said a while back. His anxiousness in avoiding Yashin's attacks had distracted him from realizing what his sword told him. How could there be more trees when I had used the powers of the two trees that appeared. Nodoka, you of all people should know that in Za Mokumoku, there are unlimited seedlings planted in that plain. Then where did the trees come from? asked Nodoka. Yashin's power hasn't decreased in the slightest. Yes, said Itoyanagi. But every attack that he and we use need reiatsu to work. And I have had some trees scrape up any lingering reishi in the atmosphere. How much power has been saved? Itoyanagi sighed. Not nearly enough. Energy is being gathered yes, but it's nothing that we can use now. Nodoka turned to face the general direction he figured Yashin was in. Wait, what are you doing? I'm done running, said Nodoka. I'm sick of this guy running over me like I'm nothing. I'm not going to let this guy beat me because of some powerful illusions or immense power. Nodoka's sword changed into a claymore again. "Yashin, I've had enough. I'd rather fight you face to face. Not in some demented plane where I'm just waiting to die." Nodoka's reiatsu flared higher. "I'm not going to adhere to your conditions of 'run and die'. I'm going to follow my own conditions! Stand and fight!" "If you insist," Yashin spoke swiftly as he appeared behind Nodoka, raising a glowing left red hand to Nodoka's back... VRRBLAAAAAAM!!! ...before discharging a vibrant blast of flames towards his torso, intending on burning his body alive, whether he'd feel the pain of the lethality of it or not didn't matter. Yashin smiled sadistically as he spoke aloud in emphasis of the situation, "Do illusions have to be strictly based on senses? Do they really have to be fake '''or '''phony? What if illusions can be given 'life '''and can ''become 'reality'?! That is the power you see around here," Yashin explained, waving his trident around the entiriety of the ashen, volcanoe wasteland around them, "you are witnessing a world of illusions given life. Real Illusions, if you will...as deadly as Reality ''would be, I can assure you as you've just witnessed. So in a way, this is my own way of fighting Face-To-Face," Yashin spun his trident next to his body in a visibly taunting manner, narrowing his eyes as he spoke in a dark tone, "I just happen to be better it, is all..." "''This may be another reality," said Nodoka. He turned to face Yashin, his body roaring in pain, but he decided to ignore it. "But you are not God. I do not bow to someone who is so obviously pathetic that he needs to create a reality where he can toy with his prey like some demented child." Nodoka brought his sword up. "You do not deserve my fear. Nor do you deserve to delve into my mind." He swung down, aiming to slash Yashin in two. "How laughable..." CLANG-CRRRKKKKZZZ!!! Yashin blocked Nodoka's Claymore with a sudden burst of strength, halting the claymore with ease with a single arm while he glared at Nodoka while keeping a thin smile plastered on his face, "...you compare me with a superstitious title such as God? There is no such thing as a true, omnipotent deity, my friend. There is only titans, gods, monsters and warriors whom strengthen themselves in ways that can only be compared to as Divine, or Ungodly. Deifying personal power only serves to enhance the illusion there is indeed a single, Divine and All-Powerful entity, whom bends reality at its fingertips and watches the Universe spin for its own amusement. I may not be that, but I assure you..." VRRRROAAAAAAR!!!! "...I am very ''close'' to it, my friend," Yashin spoke with a low, guttural tone as his body exuded a thick, deadly discharge of Spiritual Power and Pressure unlike anything the Soul Reaper would've witnessed before. The pillar discharged into the atmosphere, creating a thick, black series of thunderclouds that created crimson lightning and fumes that spread over the sky from the intensity. His Pressure was stifling, intoxicating, and suffocating, as it sent shockwaves that would surely send the warrior in front of him reeling backwards like a ragdoll. The shockwave dug a trench into the earth below him and sent ashen filth flying everywhere, which surprisingly shifted back into the world of snow and trees, now only polluted with the distorting and incredible Spiritual Pressure behind exuded from this ghastly being. With a glowing eye, Yashin smiled a dark smile as he transmuted his trident into that of a triple-pronged tsuba katana, sheathed in a blood red scabbard. Grasping the hilt of the demonic grip blade, Yashin unsheathed his weapon before tossing his scabbard haplessly aside as he walked with flaming footprints in his wake, disrupting and defiling nature by existing in this very area, "I'm trying to hold back so I can enjoy this a little while longer, Nod-kun, but its very hard as you can see," he explained with a sadistic laugh, "its like trying to keep one's foot from crushing an insect! It tends to be extinguished, so, very, easily, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" "Tch." Nodoka was not impressed. "I may not have witnessed your type of power, but you are nothing compared to the powers I have been near all my life. And you will never be any deity. You're much too weak." Green energy roared around Nodoka. His power rose 5 times to be on par with Yashin's power. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Gentei Kaijo. And that Hikaru's 7th Division had lieutenant and Captain class Soul Reapers in the 3rd through 6th Seats. However, I was a special case." He swung his sword to the side, sending shock-waves across the ground, reaching up to split through the clouds for a moment. "I trained every day under Hikaru to gain control of my Shikai, and I mastered it when I was 15. Afterwards, I spent nearly all my time training to attain Bankai. And when I did," Nodoka's reiatsu became as focused as a knife edge. "I knew I could go higher." Nodoka dashed towards Yashin, aiming to slash the man in two. This was the moment Yashin had been waiting for. With a dark sphere gathered into his left palm, Yashin spun away from the majority of the Spiritually condensed blade before slamming it into the Nodoka's power. In that moment, Yashin spoke two foreboding words, "Novis Singularitas..." SSSSSSHOOOM!!! What happened next was almost unfathomable. As the blade of energy crashed into the swirling sphere that resembled a black hole, all of Nodoka's attack power and Spiritual Energy was compressed...then absorbed at an alarming rate, happening within a near instant. Once the full-power of the attack was absorbed, it was thrown back...in a vicious backlash movement towards Nodoka's body, intending on cutting a deep gash across his torso and fling him across the landscape. You're kidding me, Nodoka's claymore took most of the reversed blast, but his sword broke in the process. He rocketed across the plain, landing near some of the snow-covered trees that he smashed through. The wound from the attack went diagonally across his entire body. He lay still. "Despite what you make think, Spiritual Power isn't all is required to be strong," Yashin chided, retracting his hand while twirling his blade, walking methodically slow towards the distant Nodoka, "I've had many ages to perfect my strategies. You're one of many, and despite what you think, you're not that special. Just like how the man who was buried not anymore special than you were, or the Head Captain of the Soul Society's Gotei 13. Everyone focuses on the present too much, when the past is so much like it its repetition never ceases and never ends. So, when I say I can kill your friend with ease, it means I can kill you with just as much ease," he then stood just a few meters away from Nodoka, before staring at him with a thin smile, "its been fun, but I think I'm done playing with you. I might catch you later at the winery...say hello Hikaru Kurosaki before I kill John...or maybe I'll just say hello to him too, whatever the case may be as when I'm in the mood for." "I see..." Nodoka stood, albeit he struggled. "You think John and I are on the same level." Nodoka's power surged yet again, but not in the same way as before. His power now appeared to be clipping away useless energies, sharpening to a single focus. "Here's something you really need to learn. I am not him." Nodoka's spiritual pressure increased to what it was before. "Huh. Looks like I figured out how to access my own dimension without externalizing it." Nodoka opened his wound slightly more to reveal a black landscape with gigantic weeping willows. "I don't mean to be cliche, but it looks like the power I wanted was inside me all along. I never knew Za Mokumoku was inside of me. That being said, looks like I can only access the power in limited quantities considering I'm bleeding out. So..." Nodoka picked up the broken blade of his sword, and held it close to his Zanpakutō. "I'll have to power up." Nodoka's sword became one blade again. Nodoka's green glow became gray. "Bankai." Dragons Soaring Through the Willows! Act II The Real Branches of a weeping willow came out of Nodoka's wound, covering him in a protective shield. As the cocoon hardened, Nodoka's reiatsu began to become higher than before; almost 10 times higher. "What is this?" Yashin narrowed his eyes at Nodoka's Bankai, observing the energies flowing around it and the distorting Spiritual Pressure emanating from it, "at this form...I don't believe this body is capable of fully defeating it. Is this what an associate of the legendary ''Yonkō ''capable of?" "That's an interesting Bankai you have there," Yashin spoke coolly, his own body projecting his own impressive Spiritual Pressure in contest with the Bankai's, causing the land around them to crackle and spark alive with ferocity, "though I believe you're some kind of coward, if you hide behind something like that. Are you giving up any chance of killing me?" "I'm sorry." Nodoka came out of the cocoon with all his injuries healed and his clothing turned ashen. His hair and eyes were now a forest green. "Itoyanagi always covers me in vines and branches in the initial 2 or 3 minutes after releasing my Bankai. Think of it as a side effect, kind of how Ikkaku Madarame's Ryumon Hozukimaru needs time to 'wake up' after releasing." Nodoka's sword had transformed into a scythe-sword combination, appearing to be detachable. "It's annoying, I know, but don't think I'm backing down." Nodoka's eyes began to glow. "It has only begun." Nodoka was no longer visible. Left...Right...Behind...Forward...After searching all these directions with his vast, experienced array of senses, Yashin knew there were only two directions Nodoka could come from. And he knew by character trait, which one that would be. SLICE! With a single, cutting rift of shredding natured Spiritual Energy along the edge of his blade, he intended to both parry the weapon he knew Nodoka would be aiming at him from above, as well as intend to injure him again, distancing him from the transformed opponent. "Wrong," Nodoka slashed Yashin from the left with the sword end of his weapon. Though Nodoka's initial choice was to attack from above, big moves left him vulnerable to a counterattack. He decided to make use of his size and go to where his enemy least expected him. Knowing that the scythe end of his sword would cause problems, the scythe blade was stuck in the ground where he once stood connected to his weapon by a seemingly never-ending chain. This chain was not taut. Nodoka's way of slashing Yashin was to be done in a way where the chain would not interfere with his movements, allowing the maximum momentum of the attack to be utilized. Yashin's eyes barely perceived the incoming attack, forcing him to adapt and lift his legs up in sync of tipping his torso forward, stabbing into the ground while propelling himself away from the reach of the blade, narrowly escaping any harm placed to him by the high-speed employed attack. After rolling forward, he turned around raising his left hand out while emanating a set of three intertwined crimson inverted triangles, "Triplicem vis, Obscura tonitribus hastae!" SPRAACK-CRACK-CRACK! A triple surging force of violet lightning discharged with incredible force and accuracy, honing in on its target with prejudice, having enough force and destructive yield to equalize a Level 80's Kidō. Nodoka recalled his scythe portion of his sword, holding the two weapons seperately. I don't have enough control over Reiseī to discharge an attack to counter, but maybe... Nodoka reconnected his weapon, then charged the sword portion with his reiatsu, like Hikaru had taught him. He swung his blade, making contact with Yashin's attack. BWOOOM!!! "This is not what I had in mind," Yashin felt his feet grind against the ground from the two forces of energy clash in a luminous, vibrant explosion, hurtling himself and presumably his opponent away from each other. Holding his blade tightly in one hand while narrowing his eyes at him, he knew he had think of another strategy quickly. "This body I'm using won't allow me to fight at this level for very long. I was too careless in utilizing such high caliber spells and illusions and not knowing the strength of my enemy. I might have to call in one my subordinates to distract him while I make my escape..." "This is far from over," Nodoka's clothing had numerous cuts across the legs and arms, but he was otherwise undamaged from the impact. The explosion occured 15 meters above him as he deflected the attack before it became critical. Evidence of Nodoka's trees shielding him from the brunt of the assault was evident from some ruined branches where Nodoka defended himself coupled with the scent of crushed and burnt leaves. Now, Nodoka flashed in front of Yashin with his sword's tip en route to Yashin's right eye. SHINK! Yashin narrowly leaned his back in a agile, flexible motion to which the sword's tip only grazed his jawline and his browline, narrowly missing his eye itself. Wordlessly and without sound, Yashin swung his foot out and kicked out at Nodoka's extended arm, intending on sending him away his direction before backpedaling away. Grasping the side of his face as it bled profusely, Yashin smiled bitterly in admission, "You're good, Nodoka-kun. I told you I didn't want to fight you for a reason. I'm not exactly...in my best suit, as it were. I'll more than happily give you a more satisfying battle in the future, but I'll have to tap out now..." Nodoka swung his sword to the side, deactivating his Bankai. His clothing returned to normal and his sword assumed his claymore form. "Any time away from the Winery helps me cope with my passions. Thank you for entertaining me for a while." Nodoka walked over to his opponent, pulling out a white box as he got closer to Yashin. He opened the box and got out a bottle of disinfectant and a roll of bandages. He tossed them to Yashin. "Treat your wounds." "Sorry, but your sympathy is wasted on me," Yashin watched the bottle and bandages fall to his feet, rising to his feet before he smiled genuinely in a eerily knowing tone, "I didn't intend on wasting time with you to begin with, and you certainly delayed my schedules for today," turning away from him, he allowed his blade to dissipate into nothing but smoke, leaving the man behind, "ta-ta! I hope the next time I meet you, you'll come to my side of seeing things. Everyone does, eventually..." "Tried that; didn't work," spoke Nodoka. He cracked his neck and set off for the Winery.